Stay With Me

Chapter 3: Demi S.E.

Two days have passed since the night I told Liv about my abilities, we haven't talked about the topic any further since then. The both of us decided that it would be better to talk about it somewhere private, a place where there's no risk of anyone walking in.

I walk in to the room that Liv occupies, the bed is empty and the sheets are a mess, "Liv?" I call out. "In here!" says a voice from the en suite. I head over to the disarrayed bed and try my best to tidy it up. Liv emerges from the bathroom the same time I finish neatening the bed, I give her a once-over, she's wearing a loose white shirt that's tucked into high waisted denim shorts and lastly she's wearing a pair of black combat boots, "Isn't it a little too warm to wear boots?" I ask.

She places her hand on her chest and lets out a fake gasp to act like she's offended by my question, "It is never too warm to wear boots." she says. I let out a small laugh and ask, "Are you ready to go?"

Over the past two days Liv and I have gotten to know each other a lot more, she didn't have anyone else to come and look after her so I volunteered to do it. The first night was a little awkward seeing as we were basically strangers to each other. The second night however was a different story. In fact, I think we stayed up until four in the morning talking about random stuff. Amidst all the sharing, Liv told me that she got kicked out of her apartment right before the accident and that she only has until Friday -- which is tomorrow -- to find a new place to live. So, being the impulsive person that I am, I offered her a room in my apartment.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's get the hell out of here." she says so excitedly it puts a small smile on my face. I'm not going to lie to myself and say that I don't miss having a friend that's close to my age, because I do. I've missed being able to let myself get close to someone without the constant reminder from the mark on their arm just how much time I have left with them.

After dealing with all the boring stuff, also known as paperwork, we head over to my car. "So we'll stop by your previous apartment and get all of your things there first, right?" I ask, a discreet way of asking her if she's really comfortable with rooming with me for the next few weeks or maybe even months. 

"Yep, although there is a little detail I forgot to mention to you," Liv says as we exit the parking lot. "Don't tell me you're actually a serial killer who's been waiting to kill me all this time." I reply jokingly. "God no, besides, if one of us was a serial killer shouldn't it be you?" she retorts. 

"Me? Why me?" I ask while keeping my eyes on the road in front of us. "You're the one who offered me a place to stay when we've only known each other for three days." she says. 

"I saved your life remember?" she laughs at my reply and says, "Hmm, fair point." which in return gets a light chuckle out of me. I spare her a short glance and ask, "What's the teeny tiny detail anyway?"

The light and playful energy that filled the car just a second ago is suddenly gone, in it's place a dark and serious energy can be felt. When Liv speaks her voice comes out as nervous, "The umm.. the person who kicked me out of my apartment was actually my ex." I glance over in her direction but she isn't facing my way. Instead, she focuses on looking out the window, staring at the buildings and sidewalks filled with people. "Oh, well I don't know what you're so nervous about. I'm sure there are lots of people out there who-" 

"She was my ex-girlfriend." Liv says while she cuts me off in the process. It's a good thing she said that while we were at a stoplight cause if we weren't then the car behind us would probably be furious if I suddenly stopped the car in front of them with no obvious explanation. I turn my body to face Liv properly, I look her in the eye and say, "Hey, it's okay." she breaks our eye contact and looks behind me instead, "I don't view you any differently than the way I saw you before. Love is love, and you should be proud of yourself for choosing love. Besides.." I move my head to force her eyes to meet mine again and say,

"I like girls too." 

Her eyes become so comically big I almost laugh, but instead I keep my face neutral to prove to her that I'm being serious. "You do?" the girl in front of me asks and I nod in response. "But you said you've never been in a relationship before." 

"Yeah but that doesn't necessarily mean I've never had a few drunken mistakes that led to certain awakenings." Liv let's out a snort which makes me laugh too. 

Our little laugh fest is cut short when we hear a bunch of angry sounding honks coming from the cars behind us. "Whoops," I say as I put my hands back on the wheel and face the road ahead. 

-end of chapter three-